Jermall Charlo Ready For All Middleweights

Former junior middleweight world titleholder Jermall Charlo looked sensational at 154 pounds, and his debut as a middleweight on Saturday was no different. Charlo destroyed former WBC International middleweight champion Jorge Sebastian Heiland, of Argentina, in the fourth round of a WBC title eliminator on the Adrien Broner-Mikey Garcia undercard at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

While Charlo, 27, of Houston, was victorious, there is no denying that his performance could be overshadowed by the fact that Heiland was fighting with a pre-existing injury to his knee. That aside, Charlo was phenomenal. He was precise, especially with his right hand, and sent Heiland to the canvas in the second round.

Charlo, who fought for the first time in nearly seven months following his coruscating stoppage of Julian “J Rock” Williams in December, exemplified, despite the circumstances, that he is a threat to anyone in the middleweight division. Additionally, with the victory, Charlo (26-0, 20 KO’s) became the mandatory challenger for unified world champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KO’), who faces Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a highly-anticipated scrap on September 16th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I want the best man to win,” Charlo said when asked if he was rooting for Golovkin to beat Canelo in a video obtained by FightHub TV. “I want to fight the best.”

Although it is unlikely that Charlo will get his shot at either man for his next fight, there are plenty of contenders – very hungry contenders – that would be formidable challenges for him.

Former world champions Daniel Jacobs and David Lemieux come to mind, and even Willie Monroe Jr. Although Golovkin defeated all three, some easier than others, they all challenged the Kazakh, regardless of what the outcome was. Jermall Charlo is just getting warmed up, and we’ll see what he brings to the middleweight division. He certainly has the potential to be the next big star. Golovkin is turning 36 next year, and that is no spring chicken in this sport.